According to a paper written by Lisa Borges, published on Tuesday 17 November and partly funded by the NGO Our Fish, the system of total allowable catches (TACs) and fishing quotas is on the verge of imploding. At issue is implementation of the Landing Obligation (ban on fish discards), which has increased fishing quotas by up to 50% in EU waters in 2020.
In a videoconference meeting, Lisa Borges, the author of the paper on ‘The Unintended Impact Of The European Discard Ban’, said that, each year since 2015, TACs and quotas have increased by 36% to take into account the catches returned to port under the ban on fish discards. She believes that the increase in catch volumes may even have been as high as 40 to 50% in 2019 and 2020.
The Landing Obligation has been in force in the EU since 2015, and is applied progressively depending on fish species and fishing areas. Borges criticised the high percentage of illegal discards, which leads to even higher levels of fish mortality.
“TACs no longer restrict fishing activities”, she said.
Borges criticised the large number of exemptions granted to fishermen as a result of the Landing Obligation. She proposes measures to prevent the TAC system from imploding, including monitoring at sea (observers, cameras on board) to ensure compliance with the ban on discards.
This issue of tighter controls is being addressed as part of the ongoing review of the fisheries control regulation.
Borges concluded by saying that overfishing has decreased in Europe in recent years, but could increase again.
Ministers will set the 2021 TACs and quotas for the Atlantic in December.
Lisa Borges’ paper is discussed at: https://bit.ly/3lHCeaM (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)